Print has Plenty of Future Left

The media revolution shouldn’t blind us to the fact that Print’s future is hardly fraught with doom and gloom. Though some business models may lose their clout, opportunities for print shops and their offerings will continue to abound in our digitally woven society.

By Andrea Köhn

In spring, Handelsblatt reported that in Germany 2013, Internet advertising budgets will for the first time be exceeding those for television. The publication takes its clue from a poll conducted by ZenithOptimedia, a group of media agencies. Ad expenditures set aside for the internet are slated to rise from 3.20 billion Euros in 2010 to 4.57 billion annually. Ad budgets for TV are estimated to climb from 3.89 to 4.27 billion Euro. Print, though, remains the frontrunner as ad carrier. Newspaper advertising will keep its top spot, but by a narrower margin, according to pundits. While businesses again spent a respectable 5.70 billion Euros last year, the figure is likely to fall to 5.30 billion in 2013. Yet this would leave print advertising still comfortably ahead of the online competition.

An international study by PricewaterhouseCoopers International Limited (PwCIL) confirms the inherent strength of print media in advertising’s spectrum. The pundits assume market share to shift from 26% digital and 74 non-digital advertising in 2010 to 34% digital and 66% non-digital in 2012.